


crush culture

by GallifreyanFairytale



Series: Songfics [6]
Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Crushes, M/M, Mutual Pining, Not Canon Compliant, Party, Pining, Seven Minutes In Heaven Game, Songfic, Teen Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-18 14:41:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20640848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GallifreyanFairytale/pseuds/GallifreyanFairytale
Summary: Eli is getting increasingly annoyed by Steve's infatuation with Aja.Steve is trying to deal with the fact that Eli appears to have a crush on Krel.based on "Crush Culture" by Conan Gray





	crush culture

**Author's Note:**

> I really miss my creepslaying sons and I also really wanted to write a songfic, so I set out to look for a good song and I found it. This is based on [Crush Culture](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzYSzV7Mltc) by Conan Gray (if you don't already listen to him, I highly recommend you do; he's amazing) and this doesn't really fit into canon anywhere because Jim, Claire, and the trolls are gone, but the events of 3Below haven't transpired yet so I guess it just takes place in a slightly alternate universe of some sort?
> 
> Anyway I hope the four Steli shippers left out there enjoy this. I promise it's not as angsty as my last Tales of Arcadia songfic.

** _my god, don’t look at your phone_ **

** _no one’s gonna call you_ **

Steve and Eli were doing homework. Or, they were  _ supposed  _ to be doing homework. Eli was doing his homework, but Steve was a different story. He had been working between constantly checking his phone. That day at school, Steve had given Aja his number and now he was very obviously waiting on a text.

Eli was trying to focus on chemistry and not how many times Steve had checked his phone in the past five minutes, but Steve had checked his phone a total of eighteen times and Eli was still stuck on question three.

** _quit checking your volume_ **

Steve fiddled with the switch on the side of his phone, likely making sure it wasn’t on silent, and Eli had to physically restrain himself from rolling his eyes. He wasn’t exactly sure why he found Steve’s sudden interest in Aja so infuriating, but it might have had something to do with the fact that being annoyed was easier than figuring out what emotion his annoyance was covering up.

Of course, Eli did have a suspicion of what that emotion might be, but he really didn’t have time to deal with that. So he was just going to keep playing annoyed until either Aja rejected Steve or Steve’s infatuation died down.

** _( C R U S H )_ **

Eli and Steve ended up finishing their homework around the same time, and then headed to meet Toby, Aaarrrgghh, and Nomura at the museum. Nomura apparently had discovered a growing gnome infestation in the museum’s basement that needed to be dealt with before any of the other employees found out.

** _i don’t care if i’m forever alone_ **

** _i’m not fallin’ for you_ **

The next day at school, Aja joined Steve and Eli’s lunch table. And since Krel went wherever Aja went, he ended up at the table too. Eli noticed several glares from other guys as Aja ignored them to sit next to Steve. It seemed every guy at the school had a crush on Aja except Krel, Toby, and Eli.

Lucky for Eli, he didn’t have to bother being jealous of Steve catching Aja’s attention, because he was immune to Aja’s charms. Aja was nice, yes, and she was pretty, sure, but she wasn’t Eli’s type. And even if she was, Eli was too annoyed by the fact that Steve liked her to ever let himself act crazy for a girl he’d met a week earlier.

** _‘cause this baby is loveproof_ **

Steve said something that made Aja laugh - Eli didn’t catch what it was because he was technically having a conversation with Krel - and Aja moved her hand on top of Steve’s. Eli tried to ignore the angry fire that rose up in his stomach. He knew he didn’t have a crush on Aja, so there was no reason for him to be jealous.

Then Aja scooted closer to Steve, and everything made sense.  _ Of course  _ Eli didn’t have a crush on Aja - he didn’t have a crush on any of the other girls who the entire school seemed to fall for either. But he was afraid he might have a crush on the blonde-haired boy sitting next to Arcadia’s new sweetheart.

** _( C U L T U R E )_ **

Eli left lunch early to go to the bathroom. He’d always prided himself on not giving in to any of the foolish shenanigans of his peers with (mostly) hopeless crushes, but now here he was, hiding in the bathroom to avoid his crush interacting with someone else he seemed to actually like back.

** _i don’t care what you’re saying_ **

The museum was introducing a new Greek mythology inspired exhibit, and eli was beyond excited. He was planning on dragging Steve along with him so they could go see it the first night it opened. Unfortunately, Aja was also fascinated by Greek mythology, so what was supposed to be an evening Eli could hang out with just Steve turned into a group trip with Aja, Krel, Toby, and Darci along as well.

Aja was reading the information plaque under a vase that looked like it was straight out of Disney’s  _ Hercules _ and Steve was looking at her like she was spouting off facts she’d learned while studying random topics instead of sleeping.  _ That was Eli’s job, not hers!  _ Eli pulled Krel over to a statue of Hera so he wouldn’t have to deal with Steve and Aja. Krel seemed thankful, so Eli decided he was going to start giving Krel some fun facts about Hera since Steve didn’t need Eli’s facts anymore.

** _i don’t wanna participate in_ **

** _your game of manipulation_ **

Eli mostly ignored Steve and Aja for the rest of their time at the museum, electing to walk around the exhibit with Krel instead. Krel seemed interested in the mythology, and Eli was happy to give him more information about it. 

By the end of the evening, Eli realized that he actually didn’t mind spending time with Krel. Of course, if he was with Krel, that meant Steve was with Aja, but at least Eli wasn’t suffering through having to third wheel. And having someone else to talk to kept Eli’s mind off of the childish jealousy that wound its way through his stomach whenever Aja got too close to Steve.

** _( C R U S H )_ **

As they were walking out of the museum, Aja and Steve were discussing something with an excitement that made Eli long for the days before Aja, when it was just him and Steve. Back when Steve would listen to  _ Eli  _ excitedly go on about his favorite topics.

** _and no, i don’t want your sympathy_ **

Krel arrived late to lunch with a book of Greek myths under his arm. He didn’t pull out any food to eat and instead opened his book as soon as he sat down and began to read. So talking to Krel was not going to be an option today. Great.

Eli swore Aja was sitting closer to Steve than she had the previous day. The worst thing about the situation though, was the fact that since Krel was distracted by his book, Aja made an effort to make sure Eli was included in their conversation. How could someone who was infuriating Eli to no end be  _ so nice _ ?

** _all this love is suffocating_ **

Eli wanted to scream, or tear his hair out, or just...  _ something _ . Aja had turned her attention to Steve and was brushing a crumb out of his hair. Toby and Darci were practically  _ on top of each other  _ and while Krel had closed his book for the moment, he was now texting someone important enough to warrant a heart emoji at the end of their name.

Eli was surrounded by people who were lucky in love while he was here  _ pining  _ for the boy who used to bully him! What was his problem?! Eli Pepperjack did not develop crushes, and he  _ definitely  _ didn’t let them take over and ruin his life.

** _just let me be sad and lonely_ **

Eli blew off Steve’s invitation to go over to his house after school and opted for locking himself in his bedroom all evening instead. He queued up his favorite episodes of  _ The X-Files _ , made himself some microwave popcorn, and pretended that that was as good as if Steve had been there with him.

** _‘cause crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

It was in the darkness between the second and third  _ X-Files  _ episode that Eli realized something: He was  _ Elijah Leslie Pepperjack _ ! He was the kid who was never afflicted by whatever Aphrodite-borne love disease crawled through the halls of every high school, and that was exactly how it was going to stay. He’d never been into crush culture before Steve and Aja, so there was no reason for him to care about it now.

  
  


** _i know what you’re doing_ **

** _tryna get me to pursue you_ **

Eli felt much better at lunch the next day. He still had to deal with Toby and Darci’s endless flirting and Steve and Aja sitting too close to each other for Eli’s liking, but he simply had to remind himself that crushes were overrated and not something he wanted to get caught up in.

Eli actually found that made conversation flow easier with Krel, since he wasn’t trying to monitor Steve and Aja while also focusing on what Krel was saying so he could formulate an appropriate response. Eli and Krel both had study hall after lunch, so they made plans to get passes to the library so they could work on their history project together in a quieter environment. Besides, they still had research they needed to do and Eli’s laptop was almost dead.

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

Krel and Eli were sharing a computer, huddled together so they could whisper and not bother the other people working in the library. They were amidst an argument about whether the background color for their slideshow should be black or white (black looks more professional!) when Eli caught a glimpse of Steve and Aja at one of the tables. Why were they in the library? Eli was pretty sure they had English together right now.

And then Eli remembered that today was the day the English classes were in the library to find books for their research papers.

“Is something wrong?” Krel had apparently noticed Eli’s sudden change of focus.

“Steve and Aja’s English class is over on the other side of the library.”

“Ugh.” Krel rolled his eyes. He seemed to like Steve and Aja being so close about as well as Eli. Maybe even less. “We should go interrupt.”

Eli was about to agree to that when Aja stood up. He pulled Krel back down into his seat. “Wait. I want to see what happens.”

** _spill my guts out_ **

Aja sat down next to Shannon, who had a stack of three books she seemed to be deciding between. Eli couldn’t hear what she was saying and he didn’t want to move closer for fear of Aja noticing him. Whatever she said, it made Shannon’s cheeks turn pink. Shannon said something to Aja and nodded, to which Aja replied with a grin.

Eli couldn’t stop himself from looking back at Steve, who seemed to also be watching Aja and Shannon, half of his face hidden behind a book. Eli wanted to judge him for crush stalking, but that felt a teensy bit hypocritical.

** _spill my guts out_ **

The next day at lunch, Aja entered the cafeteria hand-in-hand with Shannon Longhannon. THe two sat down, Aja in her usual spot, and Shannon in Steve’s, which pushed Steve to the other side of the table, right next to Eli.

“Hello, everybody,” Aja greeted their lunch table. “This is my girlfriend. Shannon. I hope it’s okay if she sits with us?”

Toby and Darci immediately replied positively ( _ “Congrats, you two!” “Of course that’s fine!” _ ). Krel looked a bit shocked, but ended up just rolling his eyes, muttering an  _ “aye yi yi”  _ under his breath, and looking back down at his phone screen. Steve gave Aja a thumbs up, which Aja returned.

Eli realized he had apparently been reading this whole situation wrong.

** _oh no, don’t look in their eyes_ **

** _‘cause that’s how they get you_ **

Steve needed to stop pining over Eli. That was why he gave Aja his number. Aja seemed like a nice girl, she was very pretty, and she wasn’t afraid to put Steve in his place. She wasn’t Eli, of course, but with time, Steve could see himself falling for her.

Even if they ended up just being friends, Aja was the kind of person New Steve wanted as a friend, but Steve hadn’t made friends since he’d somehow managed to befriend Eli, and before that, it had been back when he joined the football team freshman year. And both of those instances had kind of been set up. So initiating a friendship was making Steve’s nerves go haywire. He didn’t  _ want  _ to keep checking his phone, but what if he missed Aja’s text and then she hated him for it and then they couldn’t even start a friendship? Steve knew Eli must be getting annoyed by Steve’s lack of concentration on his homework, but he  _ couldn’t stop _ .

** _kiss you then forget you_ **

Aja texted as Steve was getting ready for bed that night, and they arranged that Aja (and Krel, because he tagged along wherever Aja went) would join their lunch table the next day. It seemed like all fun and games until Eli and Krel immediately seemed to hit it off. Steve thought he was getting over Eli, but apparently not. Seeing Krel strike up a conversation with him so easily caused the butterflies in Steve’s stomach to turn to bees.

Steve was fairly certain Eli was into boys - he’d seen a pride flag in the pencil holder on his desk one time when he’d come over unannounced to return Eli’s notes from the day Steve missed school due to a cold - but he was also fairly certain Eli wasn’t into him. Which was fair, considering how much Steve had bullied him. But that didn’t make watching him and Krel become instant friends make his stomach turn any less.

** _( C R U S H )_ **

Eli left lunch early to go to the bathroom, which Steve only caught because he had been spending most of lunch shooting glances at Eli and Krel, trying to not get caught looking like he was trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. He was, but that was beside the point. Steve wanted to go after Eli, but he didn’t have any reason to or any excuse besides he wanted to spend more time alone with him even if it was just a short walk to the bathroom, so he stayed n his seat next to Aja.

** _all they’re feeding you is beautiful lies_ **

** _so hide in the bathroom_ **

After lunch was English. Steve always sat in the back of the class, and today, Aja joined him. Steve expected Aja to be the kind of student to always pay attention to the teacher, but she seemed distracted by another student today. Fair. Steve had lost count of the times he zoned out in Spanish and math because he was gazing at Eli.

Speaking of Eli, Steve was pretty sure he and Krel were in class together right now, and that was setting Steve on edge. After they spent all of lunch talking, they were probably bonding more right now. Not that Steve cared. But he definitely did. And now there was an almost nauseous feeling sitting in the back of his throat and he was raising his hand and asking to go to the bathroom before he was even aware of his actions

** _til they find someone else new_ **

Steve locked the bathroom stall and let out a breath. It had taken a long time for him to accept the fact that he had a crush on Eli Pepperjack of all people, and now he was going to have to watch everything he had built with Eli slip away into Krel’s hands. He couldn’t blame Eli, but he didn’t want to accept it either.

“Steve?” Aja’s voice called out from outside of the bathroom. “Are you alright?” Steve called back a  _ “Yeah,”  _ he hoped didn’t sound like a lie. He flushed the toilet, washed his hands, and met Aja outside.

“Why’d you come after me?”

“She’s partnering us up for projects and I wanted to be your partner. Well, I wanted to be Shannon’s partner, but Shannon is  _ always  _ partnered with Julia.” Aja shrugged. “But then I realized you looked how I felt when seeing Shannon smile at Julia as soon as the teacher mentioned partners. So are you okay?”

Steve shrugged. “I guess it’s just your brother and Eli seemed to really get along during lunch today, and I think I’m a little…” Steve lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper, “jealous?”

Aja smiled knowingly. “Ah.” She thought for a moment, and then her face lit up. “There’s a new exhibit opening at the museum next week! Maybe we could all go and we could try to get you alone with Eli?”

** _( C U L T U R E )_ **

Steve texted Eli about Aja saying their friend group should go to the museum for the opening of the new exhibit, and Eli agreed that sounded like a fun idea. The week went by faster than Steve had expected, and suddenly it was the day of the opening and Steve was picking Eli up to take him to the museum. Darci would be picking up the others and they would all meet there.

** _i don’t care what you’re saying_ **

Eli had made Steve watch the Disney  _ Hercules  _ movie, and that was exactly what the vase he was staring at reminded him of. Aja was reading what the information plaque said out loud and Steve was thinking about how Eli always spouted random facts like that after spending too much time on Wikipedia the night before.

By the time Aja was done reading and Steve looked up to find Eli, he and Krel had already moved on to some statue that Eli was excitedly going on about. Krel looked fascinated by whatever it was Eli was saying, and Steve’s heart dropped. Maybe this hadn’t been such a good idea after all. Aja noticed how upset Steve looked at patted his shoulder.

** _i don’t wanna participate in_ **

** _your game of manipulation_ **

Steve tried to just ignore Krel and Eli for the rest of the evening. It was clear Eli was going to pick Krel over him (had Steve ever really been a choice in Eli’s mind? probably not) and that was something Steve was just going to have to deal with, no matter how upset it made him.

Steve resigned himself to listening to Aja ramble about Shannon and what she’d read about Greek mythology prior to visiting the museum. Steve should have known his crush wouldn’t end well, really. He’d never once had a crush that worked out, and he was the jock who was supposed to be able to get any girl he wanted. But Steve didn’t want a girl, so that must have turned the tides out of his favor.

** _( C R U S H )_ **

Steve decided that if he couldn’t get the guy he wanted, maybe he could at least help Aja get her girl. So as the two walked through the exhibit together, they planned out how Aja could make her move on Shannon. Steve found it didn’t pour as much salt in his Eli-shaped wounds as he had expected, and by the end of the evening, they’d come up with a decent plan.

** _and no, i don’t want your sympathy_ **

Aja spent most of English class trying to not look at Shannon and talk to Steve instead. They were supposed to be working on choosing a research topic, but Steve but pretty out of it, so they weren’t making much progress. While Steve appreciated Aja putting forth an effort to draw him out of the slump he was in, he wished she would just spend this class longing to be working with Shannon instead of him because Steve wasn’t in the mood to pretend to be happy today.

Steve was pretty sure they ended up deciding on Greek mythology as their research topic, but he wasn’t paying enough attention to their conversation to be sure. He was too busy beating himself up for letting a stupid crush affect him this badly.

** _all this love is suffocating_ **

At this point, lunches generally consisted of Toby and Darci ignoring everyone else, Krel and Eli ignoring everyone else, and Aja splitting her time between talking to Steve and texting Shannon. And as much as Steve didn’t want to let that bother him, he was having a hard time not feeling like a loser being the only one at the table who seemed to have an unrequited crush.

Quite honestly, Steve was getting tired of the whole romance thing. He used to just shrug it off, but now, every time Toby and Darci referred to each other by a nickname, it gave Steve a headache and every time Eli moved closer to Krel, Steve’s stomach lurched.

** _just let me be sad and lonely_ **

In an effort to not be so lonely, Steve had invited Eli over, but for the first time ever, Eli turned down the invite. So Steve spent his evening helping Coach Lawrence organize his office while Coach tried to make small talk that just left Steve feeling awkward.

** _‘cause crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

While eating dinner with his mom and Coach that night, Steve decided it was time to quit stalling and just move on from Eli. If they were meant to be together, Eli would like him back. But since it was clear Eli was falling for Krel, that meant Steve and Eli just weren’t meant to be anything other than friends. Crushes generally made Steve wretch anyways, so there was no reason he couldn’t just go back to that attitude and forget he’d ever had them towards Eli.

** _i know what you’re doing_ **

** _tryna get me to pursue you_ **

Eli seemed more comfortable around Krel at lunch the next day, and Steve half-wondered if Eli had turned him down to hang out with Krel instead. Then, he reprimanded himself for wondering that. It didn’t matter because he was fine with Eli having a crush on Krel. Because he did not have a crush on Eli anymore. 

Today was the day they would be finding books to use as sources for their research project in English, so Steve focused on discussing a game plan for that with Aja. The quicker they found a book, the quicker they could sit and discuss how Aja was going to go about asking Shannon out. Because yeah, that might be happening today if everything went well.

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

It was just Steve’s luck that Krel and Eli had chosen today to go to the library during study hall. As Steve filed into the library with his English class, he saw Krel and Eli huddled close together at a computer, whispering about God knows what. But Steve reminded himself that it didn’t matter, crushes were overrated, and he was here to find a book for the research paper.

He and Aja found a book rather quickly, and Shannon did too. Which was great for Aja and not so great for Steve. But he still pushed Aja over towards the table where Shannon was sitting and when she glanced back nervously, he gave her two thumbs up and a smile.

Shannon said yes, causing Aja to beam. She didn’t return to Steve until they left the library, and Steve didn’t blame her. Even if having to deal with the fact that both of his closest friends were in the library and lucky in love was making Steve’s stomach turn.

** _spill my guts out_ **

Aja brought Shannon to sit with her at lunch the next day, and Steve was pretty certain she purposefully made Shannon sit in his normal spot because she winked at him as she sat down, then nodded towards the empty seat next to Eli. Steve was over Eli, but he still sat next to him because they were still friends.

Steve felt his phone vibrate and looked to see a text from Aja:  _ “Seamus told me something is going to happen at lunch today that I think will cheer you up” _ . Steve had no idea what that meant, and gave Aja a confused look to let her know he didn’t get it. He got another text a few moments later that said,  _ “Just wait” _ .

** _spill my guts out_ **

It couldn’t have been five minutes after Shannon was welcomed to their lunch table that everyone in the cafeteria went quiet and music could be heard playing from a speaker. Steve looked towards the source of the noise and saw Seamus and another kid walking towards their table. Seamus was holding a sign that asked Krel to go to homecoming with him.

Eli nudged Krel and whispered, “You didn’t tell me you and Seamus were a thing!”

“We’re not.”

“Looks like you’re about to be.” Eli pushed Krel out of his seat so he was forced to stand facing Seamus as Seamus verbally asked him to homecoming. When Krel said yes, Toby, Darci, and Aja all started cheering, causing the rest of the cafeteria to join in.

Steve realized he had apparently been reading this whole situation wrong.

** _shut your damn mouth_ **

Mary dropped by their table at the end of that lunch period with a handful of fliers, several of which she set down. “I’m having a homecoming after party at my house, and if you all aren’t as big of losers as you act like you are, you’re free to come.” With that, she left, moving onto her next table.

Aja picked up a flier and looked at it. “We should go! I think it’ll be fun.”

Steve didn’t want to agree, but he knew Aja was going to force him to go whether he wanted to or not, so he just had to convince Eli to go as well.

Eli didn’t want to agree, but everyone else seemed to think going was a good idea (and Steve wanted him specifically to go), so he was strung along as well.

** _you’re talking too loud_ **

Eli did not think he would ever find himself playing Seven Minutes In Heaven, and really, he didn’t even know how he got here. He was sitting next to Krel and Shannon, but he was pretty sure Steve was the one who had forced him to join the game. The last thing Eli wanted to do was be shoved in a closet with some kid he barely knew and expected to make out with them, but hey. That’s what high school is all about, right?

** _and no one cares if you two made out_ **

Steve sighed deeply as Aja and Shannon stumbled out of the closet a full minute after their time was up. Aja plopped back down next to Steve and handed him the bottle. “Your turn to spin.” Aja’s lipstick was smeared and Shannon’s hair was a mess. Steve took the bottle and placed it in the middle of the circle. Might as well get this over with. Why had he even agreed to play this game? He pushed the question aside and spun the bottle.

** _i’m sick of the kissing cult_ **

Eli was debating how suspicious it would be if he just  _ happened  _ to have to go to the bathroom so he didn’t have to see Steve go into the closet of terror with someone else. The bottle seemed to spin forever, going around the circle again and again. When it finally began to slow down, Eli felt his stomach clench. It rolled to a stop, the noise of the bottle scraping against the floor deafening in the silence of Mary’s basement.

Eli’s body went numb.

The bottle was very clearly point at him.

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

Steve felt Aja tense excitedly next to him. On his other side, Darci tried to hide a smile. Their circle was quiet, but the music upstairs now seemed impossibly loud. _ How sick and twisted could this game be? _ Steve wondered.  _ Why did it have to land on Eli? _

“Well?” Aja pushed. “Go on.”

Steve felt himself stand up and Eli did the same. The two walked over to the closet and Aja started the timer as soon as the door clicked shut.

** _i know what you’re doing_ **

** _tryina get me to pursue you_ **

“So…” Eli started, but he didn’t really have anything to say.

“So…” Steve replied, just as lost for words as Eli.

Eli leaned against the door. “So things with Aja didn’t work out?”

Steve looked confused. “Aja’s just a friend. She told me she was a lesbian like two days after we started talking, and she had a  _ major  _ crush on Shannon that I had to help her do something about.” Steve wanted to bite back his next question, but he couldn’t stop himself, “What about you and Krel?”

“ _ Krel? _ ” Eli repeated. “He’s a good friend-- wait.” Several things seemed to click in Eli’s brain. “Did you think I had a crush on Krel?”

Steve answered with his own question. “Did you think I had a crush on Aja?”

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

“You were always talking to her and, like, sitting really close to her and she would put her arm around you and stuff!” Eli argued.

“She’s just a very touchy-feely person,” Steve explained. “And I was talking to her so much because I was helping her with Shannon, and because you were always talking to Krel and you started sharing all of your obsure facts with him instead of me, so I figured you had feelings for him.”

“I was only talking to him so much because you were talking to Aja so much!”

Steve and Eli stared at each other in the dark of the closet. Their eyes had adjusted so that they could see the others’ face well enough.

** _spill my guts out_ **

“I was jealous you seemed to like Aja more than me,” Eli admitted. “I… I just…” He didn’t finish his thought because Steve started talking.

“I was jealous you seemed to like Krel more than me.”

Eli looked up at Steve. He could estimate about how far up he would have to push himself onto his toes and how far down Steve would have to lean, but what he could not estimate was how much longer they had left. So he settled for asking another question. “Why were you jealous?”

Steve sighed. “...Because  _ I  _ have a crush on you.”

** _spill my guts out_ **

Suddenly, Eli didn’t care if they were almost out of time or not. He stepped closer to Steve and pulled the taller boy down towards him. Steve closed the last centimeter himself and Eli really didn’t know what he thought kissing Steve would feel like, but this was definitely a hundred time better. 

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

The timer went off on the other side of the door and Steve broke the kiss more quickly than he would have liked. Eli stepped back away from him and straighted his shirt as out Steve opened the door. The two silently went back to their seats and Darci leaned forward to spin the bottle, eyeing Steve suspiciously as she did so. Steve would have glared back, but he was too busy thinking about how close Eli had been to him just moments earlier and how long it would be before this game was over and they could find somewhere private to discuss what, exactly, had just happened.

** _i know what you’re doing_ **

When it was Eli’s turn to spin the bottle, he was grateful it landed on Aja. Of course, it would have been nicer for it to land on Steve, but Aja was the best second choice. Seeing as neither of them liked the opposite gender and both of them (kind of) had partners, Eli ended up just confessing that he had kissed Steve and Aja celebrated as quietly as she could.

** _tryna get me to pursue you_ **

After the game ended, Eli pulled Steve outside so no one else would hear them talking. 

“Am I allowed to ask what that was?” Steve asked as soon as the door shut behind them. “You can’t just kiss me and then say nothing!”

“The timer went off,” Eli argued. “What else was I supposed to do? Let them get more suspicious than they already were?” Eli shook his head. That wasn’t what they needed to discuss. “Um, so, I guess what I meant to say was,  _ ‘I have a crush on you too’ _ .”

Steve grinned and Eli felt his heart flutter. Eli was sure he didn’t want to hear it, but Steve was so incredibly cute when he was happy.

“How do you feel about ditching the party?” Steve asked. “You can point out all the constellations and tell me about the myths that go along with them?”

Eli was pretty sure he was going to melt into a puddle of goo before the night was over.

** _crush culture makes me wanna spill my guts out_ **

The drove to the edge of town, past the streetlights and out into the open where the stars were brightest and easiest to see. Eli talked about constellations and Steve talked about how cute Eli was when he was excited about something. As it grew later and the temperature dropped, Steve shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around Eli’s shoulders.

“You can keep it, if you want,” he said as he wrapped an arm around Eli to pull him closer. Eli snuggled into Steve’s side, neither one of them wanting to leave despite how late it was getting.

** _spill my guts out_ **

Eli hated romance clichés, but when he walked into school on Monday morning wearing Steve’s varsity jacket, he decided he might be okay making a few exceptions. His first class was Spanish, with Steve. Steve hardly ever paid much attention in class, and Eli was finding that paying attention might be overrated when Steve was passing him notes with hearts scribbled all over them despite the fact that they were right next to each other and could easily whisper without getting caught.

** _spill my guts out_ **

Steve hated romance clichés, but Eli in his varsity jacket was probably the cutest thing Steve had seen in his life, and seeing Eli trying (and failing) to hide the notes Steve passed him in Spanish was a close second. Maybe the whole crush thing wasn’t so bad after all, Steve decided. 

At least not when you were lucky enough to have a crush that liked you back.

**Author's Note:**

> If you have a request for anything Steli, hit me up on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/pepperchuk). I'll likely write anything that isn't smut. I do also have at least one more Tales of Arcadia fic on the way that is Krel-centric, and I'm trying to update my Tales of Arcadia group chat fic semi-regularly, so you can check that out if you're interested!


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